I forgot the name, yes, its the he VM-E-ARC design. It it is simple and automated. PID controllers are cheap and proven.And btw, there is enough knowledge and info in the book to take automation as far as you want, if you want.

e-arc is nice. IMO the automated heads concentrator/remover is the most clever design.1. it automatically concentrate heads to at least half the volume you would normally have to pull from a LM/VM2. it removes all heads from your LM/VM-outlet area. smearing is a non issue.3. it doesn't automate a cut. it actually removes the need to make a cut.

manu de hanoi wrote:Just so pple are clear , Stilton is also the admin of Riku's ARC forum, a forum pple can access once they purchase the book

i cared enough to start a forum of the topic, and that makes my thought on the topic not valid?

i have no commercial interest in this, and dont even know riku. i started the forum by public request, to have a platform to discuss the topic. I did not ask for rikus permission, but i am glad he joined the forum. its a closed forum for two reasons.1. its a forum discussing the topics in rikus book. if you have not read the book, then why would you want to discuss it?2. flood of noobs. there is nothing wrong with asking "how do i make vodka?" but its not the quest of that forum to answer that kind of questions. much like the entry-system on this fora, or new distiller VS Distillers on yahoo. it sets the discussion on a whole other level. other forums takes care of this very well. i gladly contribute to forums like bryggforum.nu and dont see it as competition, only complement.

its not about "buy this book and get exclusive membership to: arc.forum24" its about "if you read this book and have questions, comments or thoughts, please join us at arc.forum24 to ask other readers and the author himself"

not every single one of us is doing this to make a buck manu. some of us are actually doing this for fun.i am happy you joined the forum though.

Hi,I believe this forum is an added value to the book and a good idea.The fact that the forum is closed to owners of the book makes it more or less part of the book business. Just like journalists have to disclose any relationship they have to the topic they are writing, I think it's important pple know you are admin of that forum. Whether your opinion is biased or not is for everyone to judge.

Just like journalists have to disclose any relationship they have to the topic they are writing, I think it's important pple know you are admin of that forum. Whether your opinion is biased or not is for everyone to judge.

I have riku's book and have read it cover to cover and most chapters at least three times. As minime says – he has a wandering style but knows his stuff. I put riku's book on par with Nixon & McCaw's Stillton also knows his stuff and I seek out his posts with interest. Fact is there are a number of very good folks I follow here 'cause their Kung Fu is better than mine and I'm always happy to learn.

I have picked up several pointers from riku's book that helped me improve my craft. I carefully reviewed designs for automation but slowly came to the conclusion that that wasn't really wasn't my philosophy and I am more “hands on”. There's some interesting ideas there I'd like to play with when time and money permit. Actually right now I've a little riku experiment on the go. I've had my still going for 3 days now processing 16 liters of last season's heads and tails at a super slow rate (8Hrs a liter). So far it is working like a champ! I'll bet I run 24/7 for 5 to 6 days but that's OK – the weather is cold so I'm supplementing my house heating.

I had a surprise ending. I had backed off the collection rate to 2 seconds per drop 'cause I was starting to detect the onset of tails. A couple hours later I started to notice a "boiled wool blanket" smell/taste starting so I stopped collecting and let it sit in 100% reflux (just to drive the light stuff to the top of the column). Later I tried collecting again - nothing, nada, zip. Eventually sitting there wide open with a rolling boil for half an hour - nothing. That can only mean one thing with a VM rig - no more happy juice! I'll double-check the backset when I clean it out tomorrow to confirm - but that was different.

I think Riku's book is one of the most informative I've read. I'm a member of his forum, but I've never posted. For me (not distillers in general, just myself personally), I feel that the VM-E-ARC forum is "a" (not "the") masters degree of neutral still designs. I've read every single English post on the forum and have gained tremendous knowledge from it... but I don't consider myself advanced enough to contribute. I've taken that approach on all the distilling forums, up until I feel my input is worthwhile. He introduces ideas and concepts that I, personally, have never seen anywhere else.

I did read it 3 times, but it's pretty impressive to me that someone can write an entire book in a language that isn't their primary language. After the second read, I found the entire book quite comprehensive.

I know this is an old post, but I felt it needed a little support as I would personally recommend this book as a "must have" to anyone who makes neutrals... and would want someone else to do the same for me if I hadn't already read it. Just my $0.02.